Finish-safe (removable?) adhesive

[daniel lane]

Hi all -

Not sure this is the best forum, but it looks like it. Can you folks help?

I need an adhesive for a finished table (commercially finished...film finish, unsure what) to attach "baby proofing" padding. I've used 3M Command strips, which work great, but the problem I have is that they are expensive and when I spaced them intermittently along the edge of the padding, the children are getting their fingers under it and yank it off. Repeatedly. I'm hoping to find something that I can tape/paint/etc along the entire front edge to keep fingers from getting underneath it. I'm getting near enough to just NAILING the stuff in place and to heck with the table, but I thought I'd try one last time to find something.

I've suggested that if the kids bonk their noggins hard enough on the unpadded edges that they'll learn not to do it again, but the missus seems to think that's a bad idea. Can anyone make a suggestion? Double-sided duct tape? Framing nails? CA glue? Anything?!?!?



Many thanks,

daniel

[Conrad Fiore]

If the front overhang is large enough, why don't you fold the padding under and screw a thin wood strip on the underside with some short countersunk flat head screws.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm not getting a clear idea of what you're trying to do. Are you trying to pad just the edge of the table top? Or are you trying to pad the top of the table top? Or both? And what's this talk of the "front edge"? Does this table stand alone, like a dining table might, or is it against a wall or several, so only the front edge is exposed?

[Scott Holmes]

When mine were little ones and now my 2 year old (today) grandson learned not to do that head butt on the table pretty quickly.

[daniel lane]

The table is a coffee table about 42-48" square, about 18" tall. The children are both taller than the table, but our daughter, who is entering toddlerdom, does tend to stumble around it and mama is going crazy with fear that someone's going to knock teeth out or something. I used 3M Command adhesive tabs successfully for about 2 years, but my son didn't yank on the padding like his sister does - half the padding has been pulled off, already! The overhang on the table is indeed enough to fold over and screw something to stick out, but it's the top edge that's the concern (short table, fear is a falling head-bonk).

The padding is in an extruded-elbow shape, it covers the top and side with about 1" on each edge. What I'm trying to do is create a solid adhesive lip under the top edge, so little fingers can't get underneath it and yank it off, as has been happening the last couple of months. Not so much an issue if they get their fingers under the sides, as (a) too little leverage, and (b) haven't figured out that option yet!

I'm getting ready to just use double-sided duct tape or something similar, or (quite seriously) nailing through the SIDES and filling the holes later. But I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for an adhesive that won't completely destroy the finish when the padding is removed in another year or two. And Scott - I was kinda serious about letting them learn, but since the girl is just over a year, LOML thinks it's only fair to give her a little more time before learning that lesson...


daniel

[Jamie Buxton]

Okay, so Conrad's on a good track: do serious fastening underneath the overhang. Serious fastening means screws, not wimpy little adhesive stuff. And because the screw holes are out of sight, the table will be fine when the kid gets past this stage. You just need to find padding that's U-shaped in cross section, not L-shaped. For instance, you could get those flexible foam tubes sold to insulate hot water pipes. Rip a channel out on the table saw to get a U-shaped cross section.